Photo by Jacob Smith
I’ve just returned from a 3-week vacation to my hometown, Sydney. It was an incredible, whirlwind trip with plenty of friends, family and days at the beach, but the highlight for me was the opportunity to return to my first box, CrossFit Active. While my family thought I was insane for wanting to get up early to workout on vacation, getting to the gym had nothing to do with working off the cocktails and wedding cake. It wasn’t a chore or something I felt like I had to do. It was an opportunity to hang out with old friends and learn from an awesome, inspiring group of like-minded individuals.
I think it is so freaking cool that I can travel all over the world, but always be connected to this incredible community that is CrossFit. Everywhere I go, I can rest assured that I will be able to make friends that share my passion. My absolute favorite thing about travel is dropping in at other boxes and getting to enjoy a slightly different take on this sport that I love. Everywhere has a unique way of running classes and teaching movements and I always come back with fun new ideas and techniques.
From a coaching perspective, it was great to be able to observe some of the best do what I do. The best way to learn is to watch others coach. It encourages you to shake things up and try different skills and warm-ups, because it is all too easy to get comfortable with what you know. I’ve already been using programming principles, stretches and cues that I picked up while back at Active, and returning home after a great holiday was so much easier given that I have the world’s best job and was so excited to try all these new ideas out on my classes!
As a member, dropping-in is not only a fun way to meet people who share a common interest. It’s so valuable to learn from someone other than your regular coach, because everyone does things slightly differently. I know it’s easy to tune my yelling out when you hear it every single day, but when you’re at someone else’s box you’re going to be on your best behaviour and listen up! The change in scenery and coach almost always leads to an aha! moment, where something you’ve been struggling with for a long time suddenly makes sense. It can be a new cue or drill, or simply hearing it in a different voice. For me, this was finally figuring out how to transfer weight from one hand to the other in a handstand walk. Next time you’re on vacation, do your training a favor and go work out at the local CrossFit box.
Having two homes in Detroit and Sydney is made so much easier by the fact that this incredible CrossFit community isn’t bound by any borders. I love that I could still participate in the Open from 9,475 miles away. Despite the distance, my two gyms have a whole lot in common- a bunch of awesome, supportive people who like to work hard and lift heavy shit together!
